Love Me and Despair
by EdorasLass
Summary: AU - What if Galadriel had taken the Ring? Very dark, with bad things happening to everyone you may care for. And I do mean everyone. One-shot.


_**Disclaimer: J.R.R. Tolkien created all these characters. I do not own any of them . Quite frankly, in this universe, I don't really want to.**_

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Boromir son of Denethor longs only for the Lady's notice. At night she invades his fell dreams and soothes his fears for his City and family. But in the daylight, she does not see him. She does not look his way, nor even appear to notice that he exists. He is not surprised; she would be better served by his brother's wisdom and diplomacy. He is, after all, only a rough soldier with no skills to offer but that of the sword. She does not need his sword – scores of her own people stand ready to defend her, as does Gimli son of Glòin.

He is desperate for a chance to prove his devotion to the Lady, but her gaze never falls upon him. He would kill or die for the Lady Galadriel, yet she is indifferent. He is nothing to her.

**oooooooooo**

Aragorn son of Arathorn, once heir to the lands of Gondor, now possesses the only thing he has ever longed for – Arwen Undòmiel. He does not know how or why she came to him, when her father the Lord Elrond was so firmly against the union without benefit of the royal title. Yet she is here with him now, and he is joyous.

He notes vaguely that Arwen Undòmiel is not as she once was, but does not question the change of spirit. He is confident that she will confide in him, given time.

He remembers that he and his companions were on a journey, and that soon it should be resumed. But the Lady has assured him that Mordor is still, the lands of the South prosper under the Steward's able command. There is no reason to leave Lothlòrien. He owes his whole heart to Galadriel, and he will do whatever she asks of him.

**oooooooooo**

Legolas son of Thranduil wants nothing, needs nothing. He is dead, his ruined body thrown beyond the borders of the Golden Wood for the beasts to scavenge.

**oooooooooo**

Gimli son of Glòin is content, and considers himself fortunate to have been chosen to guard the Lady from any who would do her harm. He is grieved that Legolas Greenleaf had to fall, but the Prince of Mirkwood flouted the Lady's will, and there is only one penalty for such treachery. She is radiant beyond jewels, metals or petty stone;he will defend her though he die trying, and rejoice in his great fortune.

**oooooooooo**

Meriadoc son of Saradoc and Peregrin son of Paladin want only safety. Rohan held no shelter, as Legolas had hoped it would; they found Edoras in chaos, Thèoden King slain, along with his son and sister-daughter, and the Riddermark under the control of a man called Gríma. Fangorn will not be able to hide them for long; a bold party of Uruk-Hai ventured into the wood only days ago to capture Èomer son of Èomund, and the forest could not stop them. Already it weakens under the Shadow of the Lady, and the halflings know they will not be able to evade her Eye forever.

And despite themselves, they each feel as if they have disappointed Galadriel. On cold shivering nights under the ancient trees, Merry and Pippin wonder if she would show them mercy, if they only returned. But in the daylight, they know she has no mercy.

**oooooooooo**

Samwise son of Hamfast is happy with his small plot of earth. Daily he summons Mr. Frodo to behold its wonders. Sam has not yet noticed that once-gentle flowers now sprout wicked thorns, and that his hedges are withering into skeletal ghosts. He does notice that Frodo never laughs, and rarely smiles. But Frodo is now the Lady's most honoured counselor, and no doubt has many important matters to occupy his mind. The Lady Galadriel's needs come first, always.

**oooooooooo**

Frodo son of Drogo is broken under the knowledge that his cowardice has caused the domination of Middle Earth. He is not allowed to leave the Lady's side, nor to speak to those who were once his companions, always excepting Samwise. All are twisted and unrecognizable, and unaware that any change has occurred, to them or to the lands outside Lothlòrien. He has been made to watch the devastation in the Lady's palantir - Durin's Folk, Dol Amroth, Minas Tirith, Rohan, Isengard --all have fallen under the Shadow of the Lady of the Wood, and Frodo was witness to all the atrocities carried out in Galadriel's name. Mordor will be next, then, as an afterthought, the Shire.

He hopes that his kin are not returned. He will never be able to un-see what was done to Legolas Greenleaf, and he does not expect that Merry and Pippin will be treated so gently.

Yet he wants to please the Lady, though he loathes himself for it. She is the dawn and the sunset, and he is blinded by her.

**oooooooooo**

The Lady Galadriel, daughter of Finarfin, Lady of Lothlòrien once thought she would sail over the Sea and return to Valinor. She knows now this was never meant to be. She was meant to be a Dark Queen, and she has wielded her Power over all Middle-Earth. Mordor will be next; to Sauron, she sent the heads of Denethor of Gondor, Imrahil of Dol Amroth, Thèoden of Rohan, Dain of the Dwarves, Saruman, Thranduil, Elrond Halfelven. As a reward, she gave the surviving sons of these men to the countries who allied with her willingly, and sometimes amuses herself by watching their suffering in the palantir. The Orcs are most inventive with Elrond's sons.

She was well-pleased by Sauron's reaction to her gifts, and does not expect any resistance, even from one who was once so powerful and feared.

Those responsible for the escape of the lowly halflings have paid, and for now, she is willing to let them try and flee her Sight. It will be most entertaining to set the Man of Gondor on them. He will not fail her, of this she is certain.

The halfling Frodo has been both her salvation and her vengeance. He bore the Ring to her, offered it freely, and that has earned him a place of highest honour, ever at her side. As a reward, she has not clouded his mind; he alone she has allowed to keep his memories of the time before. he has privilege of watching Middle Earth bow before her. If not for Frodo, she would have diminished, and gone into the West. She would still be Galadriel.

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_**A/N: Inspired by all those stories of people whisked away underhill to Faerie, who have no idea how long they've been gone, or what's happened in their absence.**_


End file.
